§ 5358a. Application information; confidentiality

(a) All documents reviewed by the Victims Compensation Board for purposes of approving an application for compensation shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed without the consent of the victim except as provided in this section and subsection 7043(c) of this title.

(b) For the purpose of requesting restitution, the amount of assistance provided by the Victims Compensation Board shall be established by copies of bills submitted to the Victims Compensation Board reflecting the amount paid by the Board and stating that the services for which payment was made were for uninsured pecuniary losses.

(c) The following shall be confidential and shall be redacted by the Victims Compensation Board for any purpose including restitution: the victim's residential address, telephone number, and other contact information and the victim's Social Security number. In cases involving stalking, sexual offenses, and domestic violence, the following information shall also be confidential and shall not be disclosed by the Victims Compensation Board for any purpose, including restitution, absent a court order:

(1) the victim's employer's name, telephone number, address, or any other contact information; and

(2) the victim's medical or mental health provider's name, telephone number, address, or any other contact information.

(d) Meetings of the Victims Compensation Board relating to victims compensation or offender restitution shall not be subject to the Vermont Open Meeting Law, 1 V.S.A. chapter 5, subchapter 2. Annually, the Board shall hold an open meeting to present information and data concerning the victims compensation and offender restitution programs, including aggregate information on cases, pecuniary loss, expense reimbursement, restitution orders, profits from crimes, and nonidentifying information on the amounts of compensation awarded to victims.